Thanks to Jason Post of Aire Plastics for this week's guest post. If you're ready to share your big product idea with the world and are ready to chat with a manufacturer, give Jason a call to get connected with the Aire Plastics Team.

Finding and working with a manufacturer is not easy when you are just starting out. You may call, send Requests for Quotes (RFQs), and e-mail people, and get nothing but cri-cri-cri-crickets. As with anything in life, persistence is the key, but by following a few tips I’ll show you here, you will be able to develop relationships with manufacturers early on and find the one that’s right for your project.

Over the last several years I’ve had the privilege of working with a bunch of individual inventors, helping them refine their product ideas, iterate through prototypes, and consult through the manufacturing process. I’ve come to the realization that the bulk of the inventors I’ve worked with have had one thing in common: when they came to see me it was their first foray through the product development process. They probably could have used a roadmap which lays out the typical steps to follow through the process. Thus, for the benefit of my future clients, I’ve laid out the high-level steps that the typical product must go through prior to releasing the product to market.